[1SweetRide]

One problem I have with this is that there’s not necessarily a correlation between lessons and guitar popularity. I for one go on-line and probably a lot of beginners do too.

Why the guitar doesn’t strike a chord like it used to

 

[LanceT]

“Guitar is something you have to work hard at; it’s not instant gratification like a video game,”

Video games and gaming has never been the problem, it's lazy and disinterested parents who bow to peer pressure.

 

[cheezyridr]

lucky for them there's no comment section. by now there'd be tons of comments telling them what they should have written.

“Guitar is something you have to work hard at; it’s not instant gratification like a video game,”

Video games and gaming has never been the problem, it's lazy and disinterested parents who bow to peer pressure.

i don't think that has anything to do with it. guitar driven music is not popular anymore, partly because it's not marketed to kids the way pop is. another reason is, the music industry is nothing like it used to be when guitars ruled the earth.

 

[Dorian2]

“Guitar is something you have to work hard at; it’s not instant gratification like a video game,”

Video games and gaming has never been the problem, it's lazy and disinterested parents who bow to peer pressure.

I'm wondering what you mean by this "lazy and disinterested parents bowing to peer pressure" idea. I teach guitar and teach my own daughter. One thing I can certainly tell you, it's a friggin daily struggle to get her off the computer/Android/Youtube to practice the guitar for a mere 1/2 hour a day. They have WAAAAY too many distractions today than we ever did...and many of them and their peers lack the capacity to hold their attention on any 1 subject for more than 15 minutes. I'd suggest it's more like "otherwise distracted lazy kids who have the attention span of a Newt." lol. The lack of commitment in many students I and others have taught is palpable. They have too many other things that are much easier to accomplish and feel good about than spending the hours a day many of us did and still do on applying our skills to this instrument.

 

[LanceT]

I'm wondering what you mean by this "lazy and disinterested parents bowing to peer pressure" idea

Yeah I get all the distractions. Yup, things are so much more difficult now. Too much info, too little time, all easy targets.

I see it quite frequently, parents complaining about their kids distracted attention spans but they don't want to look at themselves.

It starts there if you allow it.

Kids will do whatever is easiest generally speaking and if the lowest common denominator is you as a parent then you will be blaming the video games instead of yourself.

 

[John Reilly]

It`s incredibly difficult to text well playing the guitar (i`m doing it now).Perhaps we could put text character buttons under the various notes on the guitar neck and come up with the next guitar based pop craze . There are countless great text-ers waiting to be discovered !

 

[LanceT]

i don't think that has anything to do with it. guitar driven music is not popular anymore, partly because it's not marketed to kids the way pop is. another reason is, the music industry is nothing like it used to be when guitars ruled the earth.

If as you say, guitar driven music isn't as popular as it once was, then there is a good enough reason for me to blame parents as clearly the decline began with them.

 

[johnnyshaka]

Both of my girls want to quit music lessons after this session is done at the end of June. I'm not happy about it but nor have I enjoyed the pestering I have to do to get them to practice every day even for a measly 10 minutes. Neither daughter has given me a really good reason for not continuing other than they just don't want to anymore. I've asked if they'd like to try a different instrument or perhaps a different environment, like a band or school of rock setting, but neither would bite. Oh well.

They do have other interests like dance, gymnastics, and soccer so it's not like they'll be sitting at home watching TV or playing video games instead of playing music. Well, if they think that's what's going to happen then they'll be disappointed.

Either way, I hope they stay somewhat interested in music and eventually return to some sort of music education but if not, that's life, I get it. A dad can dream, though...

 

[jdto]

Another "the sky is falling/good old days" article. Yawn.

 

[1SweetRide]

Both of my girls want to quit music lessons after this session is done at the end of June. I'm not happy about it but nor have I enjoyed the pestering I have to do to get them to practice every day even for a measly 10 minutes. Neither daughter has given me a really good reason for not continuing other than they just don't want to anymore. I've asked if they'd like to try a different instrument or perhaps a different environment, like a band or rock of school setting, but neither would bite. Oh well.

They do have other interests like dance, gymnastics, and soccer so it's not like they'll be sitting at home watching TV or playing video games instead of playing music. Well, if they think that's what's going to happen then they'll be disappointed.

Either way, I hope they stay somewhat interested in music and eventually return to some sort of music education but if not, that's life, I get it. A dad can dream, though...

We all want our family to be as passionate about music as we are but alas, every human being is different. I've been trying to convince the wife to try keyboards but so far no luck.

 

[cheezyridr]

If as you say, guitar driven music isn't as popular as it once was, then there is a good enough reason for me to blame parents as clearly the decline began with them.

i imagine my parents generation may have felt the same way when i decided i didn't like tommy dorsey, the andrew sisters, glenn miler, etc.
although there are some kids who like the same music their parents did, it's not usual. choosing music our parents hate, and going through teenage rebellion is part of how we learn independence.
rather than blame parents for what you believe is a decline, blame the record industry that promotes vacuous pop stars in an orgy of greed to bring in the most profit over quality of content.
90% of the really good rock these days comes from europe, not america, and it's rarely ever been canada, with a few notable exceptions. it wouldn't be hard to cause rock to make a comeback. but it wouldn't be profitable right now.

 

[LanceT]

The music industry has always been about giving the people what they want. Vacuous pop stars wouldn't sell if there was no interest. Greed has downed many great artists regardless of the rest of the music industry.

My dad was locked in a time warp with music and couldn't get beyond some of the acts you mentioned. My mom was much more open minded, having seen Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and so on in their hey day. She was always interested in the music I listened to even though she may not have liked all of it. Funny, both my mom and dad loved ABBA.

 

[SaucyJack]

All the kids here these days are all about the fiddle and that gawd awful accordion. Breaks my heart.

 

[Greg Ellis]

You can't MAKE a kid be interested in something. I know there are some parents who have insisted on their kids taking music lessons and spending time on practicing in between, but why?

At the end of the day, music is likely a HOBBY, for 99% of all students, not a profession. Would you force your kid to go fishing 3 times a week and practice casting in between?

 

[luker0]

I'm wondering what you mean by this "lazy and disinterested parents bowing to peer pressure" idea. I teach guitar and teach my own daughter. One thing I can certainly tell you, it's a friggin daily struggle to get her off the computer/Android/Youtube to practice the guitar for a mere 1/2 hour a day. They have WAAAAY too many distractions today than we ever did...and many of them and their peers lack the capacity to hold their attention on any 1 subject for more than 15 minutes. I'd suggest it's more like "otherwise distracted lazy kids who have the attention span of a Newt." lol. The lack of commitment in many students I and others have taught is palpable. They have too many other things that are much easier to accomplish and feel good about than spending the hours a day many of us did and still do on applying our skills to this instrument.

Hell as a 48 year old student I find it hard to make the time commitment I WANT to make. Due to some work related things I've been creatively exhausted on a daily basis for over a month now. Haven't touched any guitar in the last 3 weeks. Maybe this weekend. Oh wait, mother's day day and planning for that will take up most of the weekend.

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

 

[cboutilier]

Heck, practice is the bane of my existance. I get forced into a band practice once a week, but thats about it. The rest of my practice is on stage.

 

[Player99]

1-4 hrs / day.

 

[laristotle]

Wanting to learn an instrument and getting good at it is a passion.
If a person doesn't have that, fuggedaboutit.

I've been trying to convince the wife to try keyboards but so far no luck.

My wife used to play the bag pipe and skin flute.
Not anymore.

 

[johnnyshaka]

You can't MAKE a kid be interested in something. I know there are some parents who have insisted on their kids taking music lessons and spending time on practicing in between, but why?

At the end of the day, music is likely a HOBBY, for 99% of all students, not a profession. Would you force your kid to go fishing 3 times a week and practice casting in between?

If this was directed at my comment I just want to be clear that my girls asked to take their respective music lessons before we enrolled them and not the other way around. We also ask them every fall if they would like to continue or not before committing and it has always been an enthusiastic "yes" from both of them. The other part to this is that they agree to practice what their instructors' ask them to practice. Again, they both agreed.

For whatever reason they both had a change of heart this winter and that's totally fine but the deal with any activity we sign them up for is that they see it through. Up until a few months ago we didn't have to force them to practice, instead it was a gentle reminder. But lately it's turned into nagging and bargaining. Obviously that isn't ideal. And as a result it looks like we're done with music lessons as of next month.

I did say in my previous post that I wasn't happy about them not wanting to continue with music but maybe that was a poor choice of words on my part. Disappointed is probably too strong as well but that is more or less what I'm feeling. I very much enjoy listening to them perform and even practice as they are both very good and definitely have a knack for playing music that I never had (I started taking guitar lessons a year ago and really enjoy it but my progress is nowhere near what my daughters' is from week to week and month to month!) and I just hope they realize, at some point in their lives, that being able to play and make music (the youngest daughter has written several songs for crying out loud) is a gift.

 

[LanceT]

1-4 hrs / day.

Of?